MANIFEST (zine)

Part lit mag, part artist book, part chapbook, MANIFEST (zine) is the eclectic creation of writer / poet / artist Jen Payne. Consider it a hold-in-your-hands art installation featuring writing, photography, and artwork, along with bits and pieces of whatnot that rise to the surface as she meditates on themes like change and transition, solitude, time, storytelling, and finding refuge in these turbulent times. Each issue also includes a curated Spotify playlist. Layered with colors, textures, meanings (and music), the result is a thought-full, tactile journey with nooks and crannies for you to discover along the way.

MANIFEST (zine) was one of 23 artist projects selected by SomethingProjects.net as part of their CT statewide art treasure hunt called THE EXCHANGE, supported by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development and Connecticut Office of the Arts. It was featured in the 25th anniversary issue of Broken Pencil magazine and currently finds a home in these national zine libraries: Trenton Library Zine Library (NJ), Cleveland Heights Public Library (OH), as well as in the Zineopolis collection in the UK, and at the James Blackstone Memorial Library (CT).

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Issue #11, GREAT & SMALL
As we move among the creatures of this planet — every beast of the earth, and every fowl of the air, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth — one can’t help but think of some greater force at work. Whether you call it God, Nature, or the Universe, come walk with me, meet some of my divine friends, and let’s see if John Muir was right when he wrote “The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”  (Read More)(Color, 28-page 5×7 booklet, $8)

Issue #10, THE LOLA POEMS
“I have lived with several Zen masters — all of them cats,” writes Eckhart Tolle in his book The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment. The Lola Poems is a limited edition, memorial issue of MANIFEST (zine) that honors the passing of my own little Zen master, Lola, by considering the lessons she taught me in our time together.  (Read More)(Color, 24-page 5×7 booklet, $8)

Issue #9, HEROICALLY FOUND
Quoting from a variety of spiritual and creative sources, HEROICALLY FOUND posits that the way to find equilibrium in these challenging times is through mindful presence — a meditation that opens our hearts and minds to art, to poetry, and to unexpected blessings. For writer Jen Payne, those blessings often include creativity, inspiration, and beautiful rays of insight revealed during my walking meditations in the woods and along the shore.  Come along and see what you can find! Includes a curated Spotify playlist. (Read More)(Color, 24-page 5×7 booklet, $8)

Issue #8, ENDEMIC
MANIFEST (zine): ENDEMIC is a response to the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, the proceeds from which will be donated to Sandy Hook Promise. Includes a curated collaborative Spotify playlist. (Read More)(Color, 12-page 5×7 booklet, $8)

Issue #7, WATER
Inspired by the release of Water Under the Bridge: A Sort-of Love Story by Jen Payne, this 7th issue of MANIFEST (zine) is a collaborative effort featuring work by friends and fellow creative spirits Tara Buckley, Joy Bush, Jimine Camille, Anne Coffey, Juliana Harris, Rhonda Longo, Nancy Fitz-Hugh Meneely, Kristin Merrill, Mary O’Connor, and Laurel Valli. Includes a full color, 24-page booklet, inserts, and a curated collaborative Spotify playlist. (Read More)(Color, 24-page 5×7 booklet + inserts, $8)

Issue #6, LEXICON ZOOM
Zoom in…we are so myopic, aren’t we? What we see, how we interpret it, what we allow to be our singular understanding of something that can and usually does have different meanings for different people. Zoom out…we are all the same and all a part of each other. “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe,” wrote John Muir. With that in mind, please come explore LEXICON ZOOM. (Read More)(Color, 32-page 7 x 5 booklet + inserts, $8)

Issue #5, REFUGE
This  special “quarantine zine” features the words and images and thoughts within which we found REFUGE last year. The literal and figurative reflections, the comforting quotes and laugh-out-loud memes that kept us breathing all those long months, and helped us regain our sea legs when it seemed like the worst was behind us. (Read More) (Color, 36-page 5.5 x 8.5 booklet + inserts, $8) 

Issue #4, CRICKETS
Storytelling is in our DNA says Brené Brown in her book Rising Strong. We share our stories because “we feel most alive when we’re connecting with others and being brave with our stories.” So we write. And we tell our stories. No matter who listens or responds. Crickets be damned (Read More) (Color, 24-page 4.25 x 5.5 booklet, $8) 

• Read the BROKEN PENCIL review.

Issue #3, IT’S ABOUT TIME
Einstein said time is an illusion, that time and space are merely “modes by which we think.” But, if you think too hard on that you end up down rabbit holes and worm holes. Want to come along? (Read More) (Color, 28-page 7.5 x 5.5 booklet, $8)

Issue #2, CAT LADY CONFESSIONS
Explores the oft-maligned life of the cat lady: crazy or contemplative? recluse or dancing to the beat of her own drum? You decide. Includes a curated Spotify playlist. (Read More) (Color, 24-page 5.5 x 8.5 booklet, $8)

Issue #1, DIVINE INTERVENTION (retired)
DIVINE INTERVENTION was the first issue of Manifest (zine), published in July 2020. It asked the reader to consider the catalysts and consequences of Change: What are the forces that move us? Change us? Propel us with such acceleration that we hardly recognize ourselves? (Read More) (It was printed in full color on an 11×17 and folded.  This issue was retired June 2022.